An investigation into a flight that hit turbulence before landing at Dublin Airport has revealed that 17 people were injured.

The jet also suffered significant damage, it was found.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) published its report into the ‘Serious Incident’ that occurred on 20 October 2013 while the flight was on approach to Dublin.

There were 131 passengers and a crew of eight on board United Airlines flight UA-23 from Newark to Dublin when the Boeing 757-200 jet hit 'turbulent atmospheric conditions.'

The plane was about 148km southwest of Dublin when the crew spotted a St. Elmo's fire.

This is a phenomenon where a visible electrical discharge is seen when an aircraft flies through a highly electrolysed atmosphere.

An investigation was immediately launched, headed by the AAIU’s Chief Inspector of Air Accidents Mr Jurgen Whyte.

He was helped by Inspectors Mr John Owens and Mr Howard Hughes.

According the AAIU report: "As the turbulence eased, the Co-Pilot noticed that the indicated airspeed, as presented on his instruments, was reading low. "Fearing that the turbulence had caused the aircraft to lose airspeed which could lead to a stall, the Co-Pilot applied forward force on the control column to pitch the aircraft down, and increased engine thrust."

After applying this move the co-pilot noticed the airspeed recovering so he repeated the manoeuvre.

The crew noted a drop in hydraulic pressure and alerted air traffic controllers that they had experienced some turbulence.

They requested medical assistance and airport emergency services to be standing by.

The aircraft landed at 5.22am without further incident.

The aircraft was found to have sustained significant damage, while eight passengers and two flight attendants reported minor injuries.